Dudleytown, A haunted place in Connecticut by Barbara Edwards
Dudleytown doesn’t exist anymore, but stories of madness, suicide and horrible happenings keep it from fading into history. Hikers report a dead zone minus any animal activity. Similarly birds are …
Dudleytown, A haunted place in Connecticut by Barbara Edwards – Barbara Edwards Comments Skip to content Barbara Edwards Comments Riveting Romance With An Edge Dudleytown, A haunted place in Connecticut by Barbara Edwards Dudleytown doesn’t exist anymore, but stories of madness, suicide and horrible happenings keep it from fading into history. Hikers report a dead zone minus any animal activity. Similarly birds are absent except for the day-time hooting of owls. Map featuring Dudleytown Was Dudleytown haunted by something evil? Does the haunting continue even though the houses have fallen into the ground and little remains to mark the spot? I don’t know. According to some local historians, the town’s remains have witnessed madness, suicide, fatal accidents, natural disasters, and vanishings A curse befalling residents from the mid-1700’s to the early-1800’s makes a scary story. The curse has been traced to an English nobleman, Edmund Dudley, ancestor of the Dudley brothers who settled the town. His head was chopped off for plotting against King Henry VII. A curse on Edmund followed his family to the New World. One of the Dudley brothers went insane. Other strange incidents included a barn raising where a man fell to his death. Lightning struck and killed a Dudleytown woman on her porch. The curse destroyed a sheep-herder’s family. His wife died of tuberculosis, and his children disappeared. When his house burned down, he wandered into the woods, never to return. Rev. Gary P. Dudley, a Texas resident and the author of The Legend of Dudleytown: Solving Legends through Genealogical and Historical Research (Heritage Books, 2001), traced the genealogy of his name, found no historical basis for Dudleytown’s cursed reputation or genealogical link to Edmund Dudley. The final resident of Dudleytown was Dr. William Clarke, a New York City physician who built a vacation home in the early 1900s. The traditional story alleges that Mrs. Clarke was left alone overnight while her husband was summoned to an emergency in the city, and she descended into madness. Rev. Dudley says Mrs. Clarke committed suicide, but in New York, not in Dudleytown. Before leaving, Dr. Clarke helped found Dark Entry Forest, Inc., an association of property owners that designated the area a nature preserve. As Dudleytown fell to ruin, the land reverted to forest. Cornwall Covered Bridge, Cornwall, CT he Cornwall Covered Bridge is nearby and worth a trip. Anyone can follow directions in a guide to nature walks in Connecticut to the preserve’s main entrance at the end of Bald Mountain Road in Cornwall. The way is blocked by a locked gate and signs announcing “No Parking” and “No Trespassing.” Instead enter Dudleytown from the Mohawk Trail, a bit farther north. Dudleytown is about 1.5 miles from the trail’s entrance. It’s obvious why Dudleytown’s neighbors don’t cotton to strangers. The town’s legend attracted paranormal investigators, journalists, hikers, the occasional birder, curiosity-seekers, and just plain folk inclined toward the supernatural. Until in 1999, after the release of The Blair Witch Project (the hugely popular movie about haunted woods in Maryland), trespassers got out of hand. The internet spread the legend far and wide. The members of Dark Entry Forest, Inc placed Dudleytown off-limits after complaining of drinking parties, campfires, littering, disorderly conduct, and vandalism. A news release they issued stated in a single year, “law enforcement officers have been summoned 79 times”. A sign in the Mohawk Trail parking lot warns hikers to keep out from October 25 to November 4. The trail crosses a corner of Dudleytown. The Connecticut Forest and Park Association closes this trail section for several days around Halloween. I’ve personally hiked the fabled Litchfield Hills in their autumn colors. A brook bubbling near Dudleytown The Mohawk Trail follows Dark Entry Road, which climbs steeply past houses and towering tree before narrowing near Bonney Brook. In the forest, a broken stone wall crosses the brook. Once it was a dam—Witches’ Dam, some now call it. Nearby, a hollow moaning comes from a thin stream of water spouting into a rocky pool. A half-mile beyond the brook is Dudleytown. The trail guide calls it “an abandoned community.” It is so quiet around the doomed settlement’s stone ruins that belief in a dead zone is brought to mind. Visitors have experienced vortexes and cold spots in Dudleytown; others have seen spirits. A few are recorded on film although cameras and other battery-powered equipment are unreliable here. A few claim to have been chased, even slapped, by ghosts. I can’t claim to know if the stories are true, but it does make me shiver. Visit me, Friend me, Follow or Tweet. I’d love to hear from you. Facebook: http://facebook.com/BarbaraEdwards Ancient Blood Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/naHRY5 Twitter: http://twitter.com/barb_ed Authors Den: http://authorsden.com/barbaraedwards Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/barbaraedwards Paranormal romance by Barbara Edwards Buy hyperlink Ancient Awakening http://www.wildrosepress.us/maincatalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=177_136&products_id=4511 Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002TG4NFG Buy hyperlink Ancient Blood http://www.wildrosepress.us/maincatalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=177_136&products_id=4511 Kindle http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Blood-Finding-Rhodes-ebook/dp/B0052NUR12/ Another Love: Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Another-Love-Barbara-Edwards/dp/1590888332/ Advertisement Share this:FacebookTwitterEmailTumblrPinterestLinkedInLike this:Like Loading... Related Dudleytown, A haunted place in Connecticut by Barbara Edwards #GiveawayOctober 27, 2014In "writing"Ghostly bride haunts cemetery by Barbara EdwardsOctober 22, 2012In "family and friends"Why do I think my home is creepy? by Barbara Edwards #Halloweenbloghop #GiveawayOctober 25, 2015In "psychic ability" Author: Barbara Edwards Riveting Romance with an Edge View all posts by Barbara Edwards Author Barbara EdwardsPosted on October 12, 2012Categories psychic ability, writingTags Ancient Awakening, Barbara Edwards,, Cornwall Bridge, Dudleytown, haunting, Mohawk Trail 17 thoughts on “Dudleytown, A haunted place in Connecticut by Barbara Edwards” nickofthyme says: October 21, 2014 at 12:54 pm Would like to visit but in DAYTIME ONLY. Have always been easily spooked since growing up in a former funeral home and being “visited” by constant footsteps overhead during every storm. LikeLike Reply nickofthyme says: October 21, 2014 at 12:55 pm P.s. Great Story! LikeLike Reply Barbara Edwards says: October 22, 2014 at 2:39 pm And I thought it was bad growing up next to a cemetery LikeLike Reply childofyden says: October 24, 2012 at 1:57 pm Shared, Barbara! LikeLike Reply Barbara Edwards Author says: October 24, 2012 at 2:03 pm Thanks a lot. LikeLike Reply Julie Robinson says: October 14, 2012 at 9:14 pm Fascinating. I never knew about this, but my DH, who’s from Connecticut, said he went camping there as a kid about 35 years ago and it was no big deal—just a couple of chimney stacks and foundation. So the real spooks to be afraid of are the human kind, I’d wager. Still, I love a good ghost story. Julie LikeLike Reply Barbara Edwards Author says: October 15, 2012 at 8:53 am Hi Julie, Not everyone is sensitive to strange happenings. I cant walk there. Glad you liked the story anyway. LikeLike Reply maggietoussaint says: October 13, 2012 at 9:44 am What an intriguing tale! I am always interested to learn about places like that where things go awry, but I always want to keep my distance! How scary. LikeLike Reply Barbara Edwards Author says: October 14, 2012 at 2:59 pm Hi Maggie, I wouldn’t go there alone or at night. LikeLike Reply Brenna Zinn says: October 13, 2012 at 2:37 am I’m an absolute nut for ghost stories. Just love them. Thanks for sharing yours. LikeLike Reply Barbara Edwards Author says: October 13, 2012 at 8:50 am You’re very welcome. Brenna. LikeLike Reply Coleen Kwan says: October 12, 2012 at 9:28 pm Fascinating stuff. Who doesn’t like a good haunting? LikeLike Reply Barbara Edwards Author says: October 13, 2012 at 8:49 am I agree. lol LikeLike Reply kathrynknightbooks says: October 12, 2012 at 4:02 pm great post! I love visiting haunted places – during the day! LikeLike Reply Barbara Edwards Author says: October 12, 2012 at 4:47 pm Thanks. I think cemeteries at night are the creepiest. LikeLike Reply Barbara Edwards Author says: October 12, 2012 at 12:52 pm Thanks, Mae. I’m glad I didn’t go at night. LikeLike Reply Mae Clair says: October 12, 2012 at 11:48 am What a fascinating story and history. I had shivers just reading it. Wonderful post, Barbara! LikeLike Reply Leave a Reply Cancel reply Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Email (required) (Address never made public) Name (required) Website You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out / Change ) You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out / Change ) You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out / Change ) Cancel Connecting to %s Notify me of new comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email. 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